Prospect Drew O'Connell Player Profile

Player's Profile

Picture Courtesy of www.waterlooblackhawks.com

Name: Drew O'Connell
Position: G
Catches:
Height: 6-0
Weight: 170 lbs
Birthdate: 1987-01-01
Eligible for Draft: 2005
Drafted:
Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska
Acquired:
Playing In: NCAA

Drew O'Connell

Profile Contributed By: DJ Powers

History

Drew O’Connell is the highest ranked USHL goaltender appearing on the CSS’s final rankings. The Anchorage, AK native enjoyed an outstanding year with Waterloo that culminated with a selection to the USHL All-Rookie Team. O’Connell posted some impressive numbers with the Black Hawks last season, going 15-12-4 that included five shutouts in 37 appearances. His 2.53 goals against average ranked third in the league while his .906 save percentage ranked seventh. In the USHL Prospects/All-Star game back in February, he helped guide Team World to a 5-3 victory over Team USHL.

O'Connell attends Colorado College.

Talent Analysis

Waterloo head coach P.K. O’Handley’s insights on Drew O’Connell: “Drew is very athletic. He’s very much in tune with whatever the play dictates whether he needs to go down into the butterfly or he just needs to stand up. He has very good management of his net and of his style. Because he is such a good athlete, he’s able to do that. He is very good at following the plays. Drew takes great pride in his position. When there is traffic or scrambles in front of the net, he’s very capable of finding the puck and making the save. When he is mentally focused, he’s very, very hard to beat, not only with just a goal but also a game. He did that for us many times this past season. Drew’s consistency is something that he’ll have to develop and over the course of time will improve. It’s not so much a weakness but rather something that will come with maturity and experience. To be able to stay focused consistently over the course of an entire season is hard and Drew knows that he needs to work on it if he wants to be successful. Drew is very mentally tough and a real competitor. He has a very quick glove and his lateral movement is tremendous. His competitiveness and desire to win are the two things that I feel Drew will bring to Colorado College that will help make the team better. Drew’s a pretty good player and (head coach) Scott Owens has a strong program over there, so I believe he’ll fit in well with Colorado College.”